1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an irrigation apparatus for supplying water to the farmland or farm products, e.g., rice plants, tea plants, fruit trees, and the like cultivated there.
2. Related Background Art
A conventional irrigation apparatus is of the so-called stationary type. As shown in FIG. 1, this type of the irrigation apparatus 1 includes a suction hose 2 a suction end 3 of which is immersed in a water source 4 such as a reservoir or water tank, and a pump 5 positioned at an appropriate position within the reach of the other end of the water suction hose 2. The pump 5 is driven by an internal combustion engine 6 to pump up water. The water is supplied to the farmland or the like through a discharge hose 7.
Since the conventional irrigation apparatus 1 as described above is of the stationary type, it is general usage that the suction end 3 of the suction hose 2 is fixed. In this case, the moving range of a discharge end 8 of the discharge hose 7 is limited within a range (see the dashed line in FIG. 1) of a radius corresponding to the sum length of the water suction hose 2 and discharge hose 7. In addition, not only the suction end 3 of the suction hose 2 but also the pump 5 and internal combustion engine 6 are actually fixed at predetermined portions, so the moving range of the discharge end 8 of the discharge hose 7 is a very narrow range surrounded by the chain line in FIG. 1.
In the conventional irrigation apparatus 1, the discharge amount can be adjusted by controlling the rotational speed of the pump 5, i.e., the rotational speed of the internal combustion engine 6. The rotational speed of the engine 6 can be controlled by adjusting the opening of a throttle valve with a throttle lever 9. Since the throttle lever 9 is disposed in the vicinity of the engine 6 or the pump 5, it is difficult for an operator holding the distal end of the discharge hose 7 away from the pump 5 and internal combustion engine 6 to operate the throttle lever 9 during irrigation operation. In particular, in the stationary type irrigation apparatus 1, the discharge hose 7 tends to be formed long in order to reduce the problem of the narrow water supply range as described above, and accordingly it is very difficult to control the discharge amount during irrigation operation.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an irrigation apparatus with a wider water-supply range.
Also, it is another object of the present invention to provide an irrigation apparatus which can easily control the discharge amount during operation.
In order to achieve the above objects, an irrigation apparatus according to the present invention is characterized by comprising a backpack frame, a pump attached to the backpack frame, a driving source attached to the backpack frame and adapted to drive the pump, and a discharge hose connected to a discharge port of the pump.
With this arrangement, the operator can carry the pump and the driving source on his or her back with the backpack frame, and can move the pump and the driving source together with the discharge hose. Therefore, the reach of a suction hose connected to a suction port of the pump substantially coincides with the moving range of a discharge end of the discharge hose. In addition, as the pump and the driving source are movable, a suction end of the suction hose can be moved.
With the above arrangement, since the portion of the discharge hose to be held by operator""s hand and the driving source or the pump are very close to each other, if the driving source is, e.g., an internal combustion engine, a throttle lever for adjusting the opening degree of the throttle valve of the internal combustion engine may be attached to the carrier frame, so that the throttle lever can be easily adjusted and accordingly the discharge amount can be controlled while discharging water from the discharge hose.
These and other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon a reading of the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the drawings wherein there is shown and described illustrative embodiments of the invention.